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Then Peter began to say unto Him, lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, “ Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first, shall be last, and the last, first.”
Mark 10:28-31 KJV
Wow, what a fantastic promise! Lets take a close look at what it contains. The first thing I want to point out in this text is Jesus began his answer “verily”. a word that is used and over looked. But this time let’s take notice of “verily”. In the greek text it reads “amen” which means “so be it” or “surely”. So “ verily” must be a proclamation. Now look at the text again. Notice that there are conditions to be met and what is promised, is all listed here plainly, with no fine print. Jesus states there is no man who has met these conditions who has not received a hundredfold now in this time. Excluding, of course, wives or fathers. The reason is that a man is to have only one wife and our Heavenly Father wants to be the source for any fathering.
This is a Kingdom principle. Jesus said, “ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”
Mark 8:35 KJV
So, in order to gain, you must first lose. Simple, isn’t it? It’s easy to understand, but a little more difficult to do.
The next point is this. The text reads that this takes place “ now in this time.” I have searched the Scriptures and have yet to find where Peter or any one else in the New Testament owned a hundred houses. Did Jesus break a promise? Of course not. All the prosperity preachers need to get the right interpretation of this text. Maybe the promise is fulfilled in another way. Lets look at another Scripture. “And all that believed were together, and had all things common.” ` Acts 2:44 KJV
The greek text reads “koinos” (koy-nos’) which means “shared by all or several “ according to the Strong's greek dictionary.
Do you see how Jesus is keeping his promise? Another Scripture confirms this. Paul said “ Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet have everything.”
II Corinthians 6:10 NLT
Do you get the picture? Jesus is keeping His promise and in a very ingenious way. Now, seeing Jesus keeping His promise in this way has added benefits, contrary to the way the prosperity preachers interpret this. First you do not pay taxes on what you do not own. Secondly you don't have to worry with maintenance and upkeep. Now, I don't know about you, but I’m impressed with Jesus’ logic.
We’ve seen the benefits. Now for the responsibility. We must share what we have with our brothers and sisters. Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” As children, most of us were taught to share. But as adults it appears we have lost what we learned as little children. Maybe this is another reason Jesus said in the gospels several times that we need to become like little children.
I have been blessed many times over when staying in the homes of my brothers and sisters. The gift of hospitality is wonderful . The more we share what we have, the more we will begin to look like a real family; the family of God. So the next time you have opportunity to share with a brother or sister, don't pass it up! I promise that you will see Jesus keep His promise!
Then Peter began to say unto Him, lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, “ Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first, shall be last, and the last, first.”
Mark 10:28-31 KJV
Wow, what a fantastic promise! Lets take a close look at what it contains. The first thing I want to point out in this text is Jesus began his answer “verily”. a word that is used and over looked. But this time let’s take notice of “verily”. In the greek text it reads “amen” which means “so be it” or “surely”. So “ verily” must be a proclamation. Now look at the text again. Notice that there are conditions to be met and what is promised, is all listed here plainly, with no fine print. Jesus states there is no man who has met these conditions who has not received a hundredfold now in this time. Excluding, of course, wives or fathers. The reason is that a man is to have only one wife and our Heavenly Father wants to be the source for any fathering.
This is a Kingdom principle. Jesus said, “ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”
Mark 8:35 KJV
So, in order to gain, you must first lose. Simple, isn’t it? It’s easy to understand, but a little more difficult to do.
The next point is this. The text reads that this takes place “ now in this time.” I have searched the Scriptures and have yet to find where Peter or any one else in the New Testament owned a hundred houses. Did Jesus break a promise? Of course not. All the prosperity preachers need to get the right interpretation of this text. Maybe the promise is fulfilled in another way. Lets look at another Scripture. “And all that believed were together, and had all things common.” ` Acts 2:44 KJV
The greek text reads “koinos” (koy-nos’) which means “shared by all or several “ according to the Strong's greek dictionary.
Do you see how Jesus is keeping his promise? Another Scripture confirms this. Paul said “ Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet have everything.”
II Corinthians 6:10 NLT
Do you get the picture? Jesus is keeping His promise and in a very ingenious way. Now, seeing Jesus keeping His promise in this way has added benefits, contrary to the way the prosperity preachers interpret this. First you do not pay taxes on what you do not own. Secondly you don't have to worry with maintenance and upkeep. Now, I don't know about you, but I’m impressed with Jesus’ logic.
We’ve seen the benefits. Now for the responsibility. We must share what we have with our brothers and sisters. Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” As children, most of us were taught to share. But as adults it appears we have lost what we learned as little children. Maybe this is another reason Jesus said in the gospels several times that we need to become like little children.
I have been blessed many times over when staying in the homes of my brothers and sisters. The gift of hospitality is wonderful . The more we share what we have, the more we will begin to look like a real family; the family of God. So the next time you have opportunity to share with a brother or sister, don't pass it up! I promise that you will see Jesus keep His promise!
